Counter arrangement and seat therefor



Aug. 19, 1952 H. A. TOULMIN, JR 2,607,035

COUNTER ARRANGEMENT AND SEAT THEREFOR Filed March 17, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR BARRYATOULMIN JR.

lo l ATTORNEYS I 19, 1952 H. A. TOULMIN, JR 2,607,085

COUNTER ARRANGEMENT AND SEAT THEREFOR Filed March 17, 1951 I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR HARRY A.TOULMIN JR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 19, 1952 :2;s07,0s5 .QOUNT ER ARRANGEMENT SEAT j a .EHEREFOR '%'Harry" I1ou1n1in, '21 r., Dayton, z-Ohio, :assignor t": The flommionwealth Engineering'flompany .of Ohio,- Dayton, ;0llio,-.aa;corporation of Ohio ApplieationlVI-arch 17, 1951;1-Se1iaINQi 2165-120 29 Claims. 7 (GI. :20--r-1!) This invention relates te'a counter arrangement andcollapsible-seats thereforgand-parti-cu- .lar1y to such an arrangement for use-in connection with .lunch =coun-ters fin restaurants, drug stores-and thellike. l r

In many locations where drug stores and restaurants are flooatedspace' isat a premium and fit fnecessarilrdevelops' "that the stores are relattvely'narrow; Eltoften occurs that there-Will be a space or areawayfbetween two buildings that man .be *converted'into use for an establishment of ither'type referred 'to but'which; because of the fact that-it is exceedingly "narrow, does not -bename ."as profitable a venture asiit otherwise '*would.

.Having the foregoing'inmind what-"is proposedfbythis "invention :is, an arrangement for making highly efficient use lot the space instores of the type referred 'to which'therefore makes it possible tohandle a greater. volume of trade and to realize more profit :on' the investment. representedhyfthe store.

This objedtiue .is attained in part by a. novel counter arrangemen't.including the use of tri- .:angii1ar -counter spades. .projectingu'fnom one wall .eiated with the counters-space so thesea'ts canibe selectively positioned beneath the tables when not ...use or: be. .moved out irom .ibeneath the tablesiforiuse.

Thel severalsadvantages and objectives of this invention will ,beeomeapparent .upon reference to the accompanying. :ldrawings, in which: i-F,-'ig.ur.e. wl his a,plan ;view. .of a typical ,store varrangement'adapted tor utilizing this invention;

-Eigurefl Lisa fragmentary plan view taken :over the triangular counters and collapsible :of thes'toreandin .partibyecollapsible seats .assostore room space B;having:an entrance .atz18. :and aincluding'the usualsemioeuzounter. 11 0. Stools 11 may :be associated with 3011111331 H! in the usual manner ;and-:there maytbera gseruing. sspaoe laswat ra :where orders ,can be picked up from counter ill by customers for whom there is no spacepravided by. thestoolsd 1| Accordingctoiusualypraetices there [maybe providedalong one or more Walls of the room'za fairly ,:na-rrow counter which. mayz-or may not be provided with stools and which be utilized when thecounter inn-is filled.

nceordingc-to my. invention one for more walls of the ,room vis provided with .a series of subi-stantial-ly triangular counters as :at 1,2 that pro- :ject outwardly from the :wall and whichmay include a supporting :oolu-mn-as. at 1| 5 to give the said counters-suificientrigidity. ,ZIhese counters are rightisoscelesstriangles with the. hypotenuse ofieachragainst-the wall.

The advantage {of the trian ular counterar- ,rangement is that more pensonsrean standalone any given wall than .weuld be ,poss'ible with-a straight fcounter; .Elhis, rofteoursewmeansmore eliicient use or ,thetspaee landoa greater return on whatever investment w.therspace .and. furnishings represent.

There may,betadyantageouslyprovided, in connection with the triangular r counters according to this ,invention collapsibleseat arrangements which may. bezswunglout of Jthe way under the counter spaces when lnotw insuse or moved .out-

wardly from beneath the v.onunters when it is desired .to use'theseats. 'iTheseseats areindicated at L4 audit ,willfbewseen inFig-uresl ands that there are .two rseats provfided .for each -.countero.so that two lpersonsrmayfbe seated in the triangular .snaeejbeneath .eachpa'ir of triangular counters and positioned almost .Vvholly within a line joining the projecting goorners of the .counters.

may eomprise1.-a"relativelymarrow selongated .It will be evident that .ithiszarrangement positions the customers-oompletelyout ofitheaisle space betweenrcounters 12 andcounter to there- .by permitting lfreetmovlement of. customers :in the p said-aisle v-andwithout in: any way interfering with the :customers Eseatedaat summers-11.2.

.In Figuresz and will he Lseenwthat seats .14 are mounted .on; arms l6 rthat-may J-be pivoted as .by the pivot pins 1i B te the brackets-19 mounted on the wall tromwhich thescounters 12 project.

This relatively simplearrangement 1is inexpensive to construct and provides i-anready. means vwl-ierehy theseats may he moved i-between their working and idlapositions.

In Figure 4 is illustrated-a somewhat modified arrangement wherein there is a torsion spring 20 arranged between arms I6 and bracket 19 which serves continually to urge arm It toward its idle position underneath the counter. By this arrangement the seat may be swung out for use and when released as, for example, by the customer leaving, the torsion spring will swing it back to its idle position automatically.

A stop lug 22 may be provided on the hub at the end of arm l6 for cooperating with a fiat 23 on bracket IQ for positively stopping the seat in its working position.

In Figure is illustrated a still further modifled arrangement wherein thehub part 25 of arm i6 is reduced in length so as to leave a space as at 2'! between its upper end and the upper arm of bracket H! which supports the associated pivot pin IS. The lower surface of hub 28 and the adjacent upper surface of the lower arm of bracket 18 are formed with cooperating cam surfaces 28 in the form of a ratchet which will prevent swinging movement of arm [6 toward its idle position, but which will freely permit movement of the arm it toward its working position.

By the arrangement shown in Figure 5 the seat can be swung out for use and will immediately lock in position due to the inter-engaging portions at the ends of the cam faces 28. To return the seat to its idle position the arm I6 and the seat are elevated slightly to release the aforementioned inter-engaging portions, whereupon a slight movement of the arm [6 toward its idle position, followed by the releasing of the arm, will cause the cam surfaces 28 to cooperate with the weight of the seat and arm and to swing the said seat and arm to their idle position.

Optionally, in Figure 5 hub 26 may be counterbored from the bottom and a spring 29 provided of sufiicient strength to lift the seat and arm. Under these conditions the seat will lock in place when it assumes the weight of an individual but will spring to its released position when without weight. In its released position the arm can, of course, be readily swung to its idle position beneath the counter.

In Figures 6 and '7 is illustrated a still further modified arrangement where there is provided a dual seat arrangement 30 having connected therewith a bracket 38 extending toward the wall from which the counters 12 project and including pin means, 40 receivable in slots 42 of a supporting channel member 44 mounted flat against the said wall. A diagonally extending brace 36 is pivoted at one end to the bottom of channel 44 and at its other end to the underneath side of seat Bil. The arrangement is such that lifting of the rear edge of seat 30 will carry pin means All upwardly around the curved upper end in slots 42 so that thereafter releasing of the rear edge of the seat will permit it to move downwardly along the wall whereby the seat collapses substantially flat against the wall. When it is desired to move the seat outwardly for use, handle 46 may be availed of for pulling forwardly on the outer edge of the seat, 1. e., the upper edge when the seat is collapsed, which causes the pin means 0 to ride upwardly in slots 42 and over the upper rounded portion so as to fall into the uppermost end of slot 42 whereupon the seat is firmly supported in its working position.

From the foregoing it will be seen that what I have invented is a novel and highly compact counter and seat arrangement especially adapted for use in restaurants and lunch counters where space is at a premium, but equally well adapted for use in more spacious establishments where it is desired to observe economy and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and simple toinstall and manufacture.

It will be understood that I- desire to comprehend within myinvention such modifications as may come within the scope of the appended: claims.

I claim:

1. In a lunch counter arrangement for a store having a wall comprising; a series of individual counters projecting from the said wall and in abutting relation, each counter being in the form of a right isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the wall, a bracket on the wall between each pair of counters, and a pair of seats pivotally mounted on each bracket so that each seat can be swung beneath one of the counters to an idle position and swung outwardly to project from beneath the said counter so as to be in workingposition.

2. In a lunch counter arrangement for a store having a wall comprising; a series of individual counters projecting from the said wall and in abutting relation, each counter being in theform 'of a right isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the wall, a bracket on the wall between each pair of counters, a pair of seats pivotally mounted on each bracket so that each seat can be swung beneath one of the counters to an idle position and swung outwardly to project from beneath the said counter so as to be in working position, and spring means for each seat urging it toward its idle position.

3. In a lunch counter arrangement for a store having a wall comprising; a series of individual counters projecting from the said wall and in abutting relation, each counter being in the form of a right isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the wall, a bracket on the wall between each pair of counters, a pair of seats pivotally mounted on each bracket so that each seat can be swung beneath one of the counters to an idle position and swung outwardly to project from beneath the said counter so as to be in working position, spring means for each seat urging it toward its idle position, and stop means for stopping movement of the seat in a predetermined position when moved outwardly for use.

4. In a counter arrangement for a lunch room and the like having a wall comprising; a series of individual counters secured'to the said wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, each counter being in the form of an isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the 'wall, bracket means mounted on the wall between each pair of counters, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on vertical pivot means on each bracket, and a seat on the outer end of each arm.

5. In a counter arrangement for a lunch'room and the like having a wall comprising; a series of individual counters secured to the said wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, each counter being in the form of an isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the wall, bracket means mounted on the wall between each pair of counters, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on vertical pivot means on each bracket, and a seat on the outer end of each arm, there being ratchet means between each arm and its associated bracket means for locking the said arm to the bracket means when the seat is in working position.

6. In a counter arrangement for a lunch room and the like having a wall comprising; a series 'of individual counters secured to the said wall and projecting outwardly therefrom, each counter being in the form of an isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against the wall, bracket means mounted on the wall between each pair of counters, a pair of arms pivotally mounted on vertical pivot means on each bracket, a seat on the outer end of each arm, there being ratchet means between each arm and its associated bracket means for. locking the said arm to the bracket means when the seat is in working position, and a spring for each arm urging it in a direction to disengage said ratchet means, said ratchet means being engageable by the weight of a user sitting on the seat.

"7. In a counter arrangement for a lunch room or the like; a series of individual counters projecting outwardly from one wall of the room, said counters being in the form of isosceles triangles with each having its hypotenuse against the wall and substantially in abutting relation, and seat means that are positioned in the triangular space between each adjacent pair of the said counters and collapsible against the wall on which the counters are mounted when not in use, said seat means comprising a dual seat having accommodation for two persons.

8. In a counter arrangement for a lunch room or the like; a series of individual counters projecting outwardly from one wall of the room, said counters being in the form of isosceles triangles with each having its hypotenuse against the wall and substantially in abutting relation, and seat means that are positioned in the triangular space between each adjacent pair of the said counters and collapsible against the wall on which the counters are mounted when not in use, said seat means comprising a dual seat having accommodation for two persons, there being a vertical slide isosceles triangle with its hypotenuse against-the" wall and in substantially abutting relation with the counters on either sidethereof, a dual seat arranged in the triangular space between each said pair of counters, a vertical channel mounted on the wall directly behind each seat and com prising slot means, an arm secured to each seat and projecting rearwardly and including pin means in said slot means, and a rigid brace member pivoted at its upper end to the forward portion of said seat and at its lower end to the lower end of said channel, said slot means extending substantially vertically upwardly and then curving forwardly and downwardly whereby the seat is positively retained in its working position but may be collapsed flat against the wall when not in use.

HARRY A. TOULMIN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,392,418 Hill Oct. 4, 1921 1,701,577 Lewis Feb. 12, 1929 2,024,045 Johnson Dec. 10, 1935 2,339,647 Meyer Jan. 18, 1944 

